BHS Senior Named National Merit Semifinalist

Editor's note: The following is a press release from . 

has a National Merit Scholarship Program Semifinalist.

He’s senior Sandeep Bharadwaj, who now advances to compete to become an NMSC Finalist and ultimately to receive a coveted National Merit Scholarship.

Only 16,000 students nationally have been named semifinalists, who are the highest scorers in each of the 50 states and comprise less than one percent of each state's seniors.

More than 90 percent of semifinalists move on to become National Merit Finalists; more than half receive a National Merit scholarship, earning a Merit Scholar title.

“This is really exciting for me,” said Bharadwaj, who survived the initial screening of 1.5 million students who took the Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test. “My main goal right now is to get farther in the competition. Hopefully it will open up some new opportunities.”

Bharadwaj, the second ranking student in the BHS Class of 2013, already holds a Bruce Fishkin Scholarship good for four years of undergraduate education at a higher institution of his choice. But receiving a rare National Merit Scholarship would be a significant addition to his portfolio.

The young man, who hopes to go into medicine, scored a perfect 800 on his SAT II Math Level 2 subject test as a junior and an almost perfect 790 on his SAT Chemistry subject test. He also scored perfect 5’s on all of his Advanced Placement tests.

Bharadwaj also competes on the Math and Scholastic Bowl teams, qualifying for the Illinois Council of Teachers of Mathematics state finals and finishing first in chemistry competition at the Worldwide Youth in Science and Engineering’s Academic Challenge regionals. He is President of the BHS National Honor Society and also is an accomplished violinist specializing in Indian Carnatic music.

To confirm their interest in becoming a finalist, each semifinalist must submit one final application including an endorsement from their principal and evidence of “consistently high academic performance.

Finalists will be announced in late January or early February. Scholarship winners will be announced throughout the spring and early next summer.